Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Friday 14 September 2018
Calling teen vaping 'epidemic,' officials weigh flavor ban

By MATTHEW PERRONE quirement has allowed the
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. industry to flourish with little
health officials are sound- oversight. But it's not clear
ing the alarm about teen- how quickly the decision
age use of e-cigarettes, could be reversed.
calling the problem an Wells Fargo analyst Bon-
"epidemic" and ordering nie Herzog said Juul is the
manufacturers to reverse brand "most at risk" from
the trend or risk having their an FDA crackdown and
flavored vaping products that a potential ban on the
pulled from the market. company's products would
The warning from the Food boost Altria and other ciga-
and Drug Administration on rette makers that also sell
Wednesday cited recent e-cigarettes.
data pointing to a sharp Shares of Big Tobacco com-
rise in underage use of the panies surged in trading
devices, including Juul, Wednesday. Altria Group
Vuse and others. Inc. and British American
It marks a shift in the agen- Tobacco Plc had the big-
cy's tone on e-cigarettes. gest one-day percentage
Since 2017, FDA commis- gain in about a decade.
sioner Scott Gottlieb has San Francisco-based Juul
discussed e-cigarettes as said it is working to prevent
a potential tool to ween underage use of its prod-
adult smokers off ciga- ucts but added that flavors
rettes, although that ben- can help adult smokers
efit hasn't been proven. quit.
But Gottlieb said in an ad- "By working together, we
dress at FDA headquarters believe we can help adult
that he failed to predict smokers while preventing
the current "epidemic of access to minors," the com-
addiction" among youth, This Dec. 4, 2013 file photo shows vials of flavored liquid at a store selling electronic cigarettes and pany said in a statement.
mainly driven by flavored related items in Los Angeles. The FDA also announced
products. Associated Press 1,300 warning letters and
"The disturbing and accel- fines to online and tradi-
erating trajectory of use have warned nicotine in e- come one of our biggest most products for review tional stores that have ille-
we're seeing in youth and cigarettes is harmful to de- challenges," he said, in pre- by August 2018. But last gally sold Juul and other e-
the resulting path to ad- veloping brains. pared remarks. "Hindsight, year Gottlieb delayed the cigarettes to minors. Regu-
diction must end," Gottlieb They typically contain nico- and the data that's now deadline until 2022, saying lators said it was the largest
told agency staffers and tine, and sometimes flavor- available to us, fully reveal both the agency and in- coordinated crackdown in
reporters. ings like fruit, mint or choco- these trends." dustry needed more time the agency's history.
The FDA said it remains late. In June, a government to prepare. The FDA is in the process
committed to exploring e- Health advocates have survey found teen vap- The decision was criticized of rolling out a sweeping
cigarettes as a less-harmful worried about the popu- ing seemed to be holding by anti-smoking advocates anti-smoking initiative de-
alternative for adult smok- larity of vaping products steady last year. Some ex- who say e-cigarette mak- signed to make it easier
ers, but Gottlieb added among kids and the po- perts were cautious about ers are targeting kids with for smokers to quit by cut-
"that work can't come at tential impact on smoking the results, however. They candy flavors and market- ting the nicotine levels in
the expense of kids." rates in the future. A gov- noted the survey did not ing that portrays their prod- regular cigarettes. As part
E-cigarettes are vapor- ernment-commissioned ask specifically about Juul, ucts as flashy, hand-held of that plan, Gottlieb has
emitting devices that have report in January found a sleek, heavily-marketed gadgets. suggested some smokers
grown into a multi-billion "substantial evidence" that e-cigarette brand that ex- Under Wednesday's an- could be directed toward
dollar industry in the U.S. young people who use e- ploded onto the market nouncement, the five larg- alternative products that
despite little research on cigarettes are more likely and accounts for 70 per- est e-cigarette manufac- deliver nicotine without the
their long-term effects, in- to try cigarettes. cent of U.S. sales, accord- turers will have 60 days to carcinogens of cigarettes.
cluding whether they are Gottlieb cited unreleased ing to analyst estimates. produce plans to stop un- Those products could in-
helpful in helping smokers federal figures that he says "I think it became clear to derage use of their prod- clude e-cigarettes, though
quit. They're generally con- will be made public in com- FDA that if they didn't get ucts. The companies sell the FDA has not given any
sidered a less dangerous ing months. their arms around this issue Vuse, Blu, Juul, MarkTen company permission to ad-
alternative to regular ciga- "We didn't foresee the the use of these products XL, and Logic e-cigarette vertise its device as a quit-
rettes. But health officials extent of what's now be- by kids across the nation brands, which account for smoking aid.
would undo decades of 97 percent of U.S. e-ciga- On Wednesday, Gottlieb
progress," said Matthew rette sales, according to criticized e-cigarette com-
Myers of the Campaign FDA. panies' handling of the
for Tobacco-Free Kids. His If the plans fall short, the underage use problem,
group and several others FDA could block sales of saying they approached it
are suing the FDA over a the products by enforcing as "a public relations chal-
decision to delay federal a requirement that com- lenge rather than seriously
review of most e-cigarettes. panies provide detailed considering their legal ob-
Under regulations devel- design and health data ligations."
oped by the Obama ad- about their products be- "I'm here to tell them today
ministration, manufacturers fore marketing them. The that this prior approach is
were supposed to submit FDA's delay on that re- over," he said.q